The Australian Aborigines' environmental culture and the "double bind"
approach used in the program of Alcoholics Anonymous are considered as a
source for the generation of a new strategy for dealing with the ecological
problems of our day. The strategy aims at achieving a negotiated outcome in
issues of high societal risk related to waste management in the Hawkesbury
region of Sydney, Australia.

The contemporary ecological problems are created by all of us and we are the
beings who have to deal with them. This is an axiom. It is an illusion that
science and technology, no matter how powerful, can save the world from
ecological disasters.

The idea of scientific and technological "miracles" creates a distorted image
of human power that "we are beings who possess nature and that our ability to
transform and model it, using the power of our omnipotent brain, will help us
to deal successfully with the ecological crisis". Such an attitude is totally
wrong because it considers human beings at a particular position outside
nature, imposing their decisions and actions upon it. By putting ourselves at a
position of dominance over nature, we disenfranchise ourselves completely,
because we are part of this nature. The way we relate to other parts of it is
of crucial importance for our survival.

All traditional state religions have one God-man at the top of a universal
hierarchy. The Darwinian model, together with the contemporary humanistic
philosophy reinforce the idea that human beings are elevated above any other
creatures. Nature is considered as a force that must be kept at bay by human
will and strength. Such a point of view justifies easily the intensive
exploitation of the earth's natural resources and of all other creatures in
the name of satisfaction of the human requirements. The same point is visible
in all approaches, applying to the design of our contemporary military,
government, economic and even ecological (!) systems.

The following paradox manifests itself: THE MORE WE CONSIDER OURSELVES IN A
PARTICULAR PRE-SELECTED POSITION TO NATURE, AS THE MOST POWERFUL BEINGS
CREATED TO RULE AND MANIPULATE IT ACCORDING TO OUR NEEDS, THE LESS POWERFUL WE
ARE TO DEAL WITH OUR ECOLOGICAL PROBLEMS. The resolution of this dramatic
paradox - and our survival depends on how soon we accept this resolution -
lies in admitting that the laws and principles from which the natural world
arose are the same as those that generate human culture and society, and that
we have equal opportunity to exist and evolve with all other creatures. The
Aborigines of Australia have had this understanding for a hundred thousand
years. It is no wonder that a similar understanding is typical for indigenous
people who live nowadays in other countries - for example, Indians in America,
Maoris in New Zealand, etc.

"It is the nature, which possesses us - we do not possess it" - this is the
leitmotiv of Australian Aborigines' culture. We are created by the nature to
live in harmony with it - "we have been here since the time before time began;
we have come directly out of the Dreamtime of the Creative Ancestors; we have
lived and kept the earth as it was on the First Day" say the Aboriginal Tribal
Elders. The same forces which permanently pulsate in Nature, making the
volcanoes to erupt, the tides to flood, the planets to revolve and the sun to
shine, pulsate in us. "The Aborigines refer to these forces as their Creative
Ancestors. Everything was created from the same source - the dreamings and
doings of the great Ancestors; all creatures - from stars to humans to insects
- share in the consciousness of the primary creative force, and each, in its
own way, mirrors a form of that consciousness. In this sense the Dreamtime
stories of Australian Aborigines perpetuate a unified world view"
[3]. Is it not
this "unified world view" to which system science vehemently appeals when
dealing with humanity's problems?

The idea of unity, penetrating deeply the naturally born Aboriginal "system
science" compelled them to respect and adore the earth as if it were a book
imprinted with the mystery of the original creation. The goal of life was to
PRESERVE the earth, as much as possible, in its initial purity.

"The subjugation and domestication of plants and animals and all other
manipulation and the almost barbarous exploitation of the natural world - the
basis of Western civilisation and technological "progress" - were antithetical
to INDIGENOUS SPIRITUALITY the sense of a common consciousness and origin
shared by every creature and equally with the creators; to exploit this
integrated world was to do the same to oneself. The Dreamtime stories, common
to all Aboriginal people across the vast continent of Australia, extend the
idea of unity and harmonious co-existence not only to every living creature but
also to the earth and the primary elements, forces and principles. Each
component of creation acts out of dreams, desires, attractions, and repulsions,
just as we humans do; therefore, the entrance into the larger world of space,
time, and universal energies and fields is the same as the entrance into the
inner world of consciousness and dreaming. The exploration of the vast universe
and knowledge of the meaning of creation is experienced through an internal and
external knowledge of self. Like any creation myth, the Dreamtime stories
cannot be "scientifically" proved. The value of any creation myth is determined
by its effect on people, the image they hold of themselves, and their place in
the universe. For perhaps a hundred thousand years, the Dreamtime mythology
sustained a culture (maybe the oldest known human culture) that lived in
harmony with nature and was full of vigour, vitality and joyousness. The
question of identity, of who I am, is resolved in the Aboriginal consciousness
by knowing the full implication of where I am.. So important is the surrounding
environment. There is a mystical interrelationship of these two most profound
realms of existence - the physical body and the extended body of the
surrounding environment. Each Aborigine knows his country as he knows himself,
through his own body and the internalised images of his dreaming places - these
are his identity. "
. How can we be pure, if our surrounding environment is
polluted? "I feel it with my body, with my blood. Feeling all these trees, all
this country... when the wind blows you can feel it. Same for country... you
feel it. You can look, but feeling...that put you out there in open space.",
says a Kakadu Aborigine. Like the human body, the country is considered
nonsegmentable; there are distinguishable features such as thighs, abdomen, and
chest, but they form integral parts of a continuous living being.

The present ecological effort to re-establish a bond between human societies
and the natural environment seems superficial compared to the Aborigines' deep
identification with nature. For thousands and thousands of years this deep
connection appears to have preserved both Aboriginal culture and the local
environment in a harmonious balance. Without romanticising and idealising this
culture, perhaps we can seek to understand their degree of identification with
nature as a guide to transforming our present relationship with our
environment. Otherwise it seems that we must continue to live with the thought
that our ecological crises threaten our very survival.

The way to an effective community empowerment for dealing with ecological
problems needs to be channelled through an altered understanding of our unity
with the surrounding world. Without this understanding, it seems likely that
our technological and scientific effort will be in vain. The first practical
step might be to establish a common language concerning environmental issues
between different sectors of society - farmers, technologists, academics,
students, etc. The second and most decisive step would be to practice speaking
the language of nature. Once upon a time we must have spoken this language
better we do now, but it seems we have forgotten it. There must be aboriginal
people who still keep its secret and who could help us to reclaim it.

We do not think this could happen until there is another kind of fundamental
change in our attitude to nature - a change which would have to go much deeper
than the superficial changes in values and lifestyle which have occurred in
recent years. We would label this change as an innermost psychospiritual shift.
Is such a shift possible? Let us consider a situation in which a profound shift
of this kind has occurred in many thousands of human lives with consequences
which are remarkable.

There is good evidence that the program of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) has been
more successful than any other kind of treatment in counteracting society's
oldest and most widespread fatal addiction - to alcohol. The crucial steps of
this program are (1) admitting powerlessness over alcohol, and (2)
acknowledging some higher power which can relieve or remove the addiction. This
is sometimes called the theology of AA, but it is also an illuminating
illustration of the working of systems-logic in a situation that is analogous
to the environmental issue described above. It was Gregory Bateson, in 1971,
who first drew attention to the AA program as a cybernetical issue
[1] and it
seems surprising to us that his insights have not been more widely canvassed.

The way the alcoholic is operating when sober may be seen as a particular kind
of epistemological "error" (which is widespread in our society) and his
surrender to intoxication is the "logical" short-cut to correct the problem.
There is a converse matching between sobriety and intoxication which is
similar to the way we enjoy the many comforts in our living which our
technology provides. This popular epistemology is self-reinforcing in an
insidious way. Bateson revealed the epistemological "error" to be the belief
that our relation to the largest system which concerns us - whatever it might
be - is one in which INDIGENOUS SPIRITUALITY one's self has control. We
understand from cybernetics that this notion that power lies in a part such as
the self (which may have evolved from the Cartesian mind-body split) is
systemically false. The power (mind etc.) is regarded as immanent, not in some
part, but in the whole of the system.

For the alcoholic, admitting (1) powerlessness and (2) a higher power could be
called a "double surrender", but in philosophical terms it is also a profound
epistemological change - a change in how he sees himself in relation to the
world. The situation arises through repeated experience of a double bind in
which the particular false pride of the alcoholic is paradoxically reinforced
by failure. This pride is not based on past achievement, but on an obsessive
acceptance of a challenge - it is not "I did", but "I can". Success in staying
sober attenuates the challenge leading to:"of course I can", but at the same
time this pride narrows the concept of self in order to place the alcoholism
outside the self ("I am not part of it"). Subsequent failure to abstain (which
is a surrender to the system) is therefore necessary to "prove" that this
unreliable epistemology is true. The double bind could be expressed as: "if you
don't drink you go mad and crave for the drink that you then think you can
manage successfully" and "if you do drink you go mad and crave for the drink
that you then think you can manage successfully".

Early in AA history a member recalled having been told by Dr Carl Jung that
even Jung could not and would not cure him - the only hope being a "spiritual
experience"
[2]. This is what most alcoholics who enjoy prolonged sobriety
through the AA program maintain has happened to them. We equate this to the
innermost psychospiritual shift which we suggested earlier could bring about a
new relationship with our environment. It is summarised by saying: "I am part
of something bigger". The cybernetical elegance of the AA program lies in
equating the experience of defeat with the first step of real change. Repeated
failure may lead to what is known as "hitting bottom" and an awareness that
this process of surrendering to the closed system which is alcoholism may also
apply to a relationship of surrender to an even larger (more powerful) system.
This power which can only arise from the relationship - is immanent in the
alcoholic's being in the world - seems to be decisive in breaking the Gordian
knot of addiction.

An important feature of this new relationship which occurs is that it is highly
personal - an intimate relationship which is unique for each individual. In AA
it is called "God as I understand him". It seems that the freedom given to an
addicted individual to conceive his own larger system, rather than have one
imposed upon him, is crucial to the liberating and empowering process which

occurs. In AA this process occurs in the form of a constant stream of language
which arises from the "experience, strength and hope" of the participants.
There are parallels here with what is known as unconditional love or the kind
of love which is defined by Maturana as "constituting the other as a legitimate
other in co-existence with you"
[4].

There is an antidote to the false pride of the alcoholic which is built into
the AA program. It is called anonymity and means much more than protecting
one's identity. It denotes self-sacrifice and Bateson considered it to be a
profound statement affirming the systemic relationship (of the part with the
whole). A form of prayer to one's own higher power - which is an extraordinary
self-affirming tautology - also plays a part and the well-known Serenity Prayer
of AA ("God grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change,
courage to change the things we can, and wisdom to know the difference") stands
as the converse of the double bind affliction. The paradox which is inherent
in the double bind is the same paradox which exists in the spiritual process of
recovery. So the epistemological "error" regarding our relationship to the
highest system which concerns us has become the epistemological "truth" which
has a life-promoting quality.

Let us apply the "double surrender" strategy used successfully by AA in the
context of social ecology.

The first step is to admit our powerlessness over environmental pollution. By
so doing we are trying to extinguish the roots of the most essential
epistemological "error" of mankind- the belief that we are strong enough
(god-like) to control nature, to transform and model it according to our
desires. There is a direct relationship between the degree of belief in our
power to control nature and the degree of pollution and destruction this
control produces. We act upon nature as if we know definitely how to behave
with regard to it. And this belief in our thinking and desire that we know
the truth about what to do and what not to do is a pollution which is much
more serious than the physical pollution produced by our actions. It is a
pollution of our mind. By recognising it we are making our first step in the
direction to the psychospiritual shift.

The second step is to acknowledge some higher Power which is much stronger than
the force propelling our continual drive towards new technologies - it is this
Power which could help us to survive and save life on our planet. What is the
"Power greater than ourselves"? Is it the acknowledgment that WE create our
knowledge and understanding? We do not have access to the absolute knowledge
of good and evil. What we have, what we can do, is of our own construction.
The surrender to the "Power greater than ourselves" is a surrender to not
knowing, or being able to know, the real truth. By surrendering to that power,
we tie the "double bind" in a similar way to the AA situation, involving our
minds in a paradox, whose resolution inevitably has a psychospiritual
dimension.

We are in the process of applying the "double surrender" approach in a very
concrete practical context: to develop and test strategies aimed at achieving a
negotiated outcome in ecological issues of high societal risk. The ecological
issues relate to water and waste management problems in the Hawkesbury City
region, which focus the community "outrage". The sides of negotiation are: (a)
regulatory agencies with decision-making authority on water and waste issues,
who have management responsibility for human and environmental health, (b)
environmental groups and individuals with a significant stake in water and
waste issues and insufficient impact on how these issues are resolved, (c)
individuals who do not perceive themselves to be seeking input into water and
waste issues but might be responsive to outreach and education, (d) main
"polluters" as organisations and groups of people presenting the most essential
sources of pollution in the considered geographical area.

Each of the negotiation sides is invited to share with others its state of
knowledge, attitude and responsibility on the water and waste issues; no one
side is blamed or anathematised for its behaviour - we all are "polluted", we
all are polluters. We all recognise and surrender to the reality as it is;
moreover, we accept it as it is. There is no need to feel guilty, no feeling of
supremacy over the nature in and out -side us. We are going to have to trust
each other. It is not the fight against each other and against the nature, that
will bring us to "harmonious co-existence". It is the benignity to each other
and to the nature surrounding us, that would help us to tie the "double bind"
of surrender to what we are and to the power which veils the truth and
makes us eager to pursue it, and by the same token, to approach the
psychospiritual shift which may enlighten the way for solving the ecological
enigmas of our days.

The anonymity in the application of "double surrender" strategy has to do with
the lack of ownership over any preconceived or subtly imposed negotiation
outcome. No one side participating in the negotiation process has any monopoly
on a specific way of solving the critical issue. There can be no valid
negotiation if any side has a fixed and predetermined outcome. We respect and
accept the opinions of every side and by a profound understanding of these
opinions, we "drift" together to what unites us and makes us happy.

By using the described strategy we are surely on the way to a better
understanding of the language which the Aborigines have established with
nature, and to reveal the secrets of its powerful metaphors. This language
appears to have been created by them in a spiritual surrender to their creative
Ancestors and it appears to have helped them to survive. Through an
understanding of this language humanity may improve its chances of survival and
its prospects of a better life.